Posts Tagged ‘Christian’

Don Larsen, a Republican delegate from Springville, Utah, pushed a resolution to the Utah County Republicans titled, “Resolution opposing the Hate America anti-Christian Open Borders cabal.” In the resolution Larsen says that an “invisible government” is feeding money to the Democratic Party so that Christianity will erode and our borders will open. The head of this invisible government is no mere man, but Satan himself.

Barack Obama listens to this guy.

The bill is rife with quotes from the Bible, something that clearly belongs in our government. Larsen stresses the importance of knowing good (Republicans) and evil (Democrats) and that the rift between the two parties fulfills biblical prophecy. Larsen says that “Satan’s ultimate goal is to destroy the family and these people are playing a leading part in it.”

Sane Republicans in Utah narrowly rejected the resolution. Led by David Rodeback, a demon in disguise, Republicans decided that aligning themselves with fundamental Christianity may alienate some voters.

In an effort to prove every conservative Christians fears, the University of Maryland allowed a screening of a pornographic film this weekend and forbid prayer at its commencement addresses. After receiving loads of negative media attention about a porno being showed on the University campus, the school stood steadfast and allowed the students to show the film as a display of free speech.

Yarr.

The screening of “Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge” didn’t go as well as some students had planned. The theater was full, but the student organization only decided to show a half hour of the movie. No one was found beating off in the stadium seats.

This sets an interesting precedent in our country. I’m a fan of the Constitution and I am 100% behind the students that want to watch a porno, even though I think it’s a bit bizarre to watch any skin flick in a group. But I’d like to hear about more about this prayer ban. While I agree that it shouldn’t be allowed to be a tradition during the commencement, I would have no problem with a guest speaker saying a couple words about a deity. That’s free speech too.

I don’t think the University should actively promote a certain religious affiliation, but it also shouldn’t stifle the voice of its students, even if some people disagree.

This is a hell of a question to start out this debate. But it’s the only way that we’ll make any kind of headway. We have to define our terms before we set out or we’ll just end up in a game of semantics.

I think the best way of answering this is by comparing the United States to other nations around the world. For example, clearly the United States is more influenced by Christianity than The Netherlands. We have laws against incest and (in some states) sodomy because of our Christian influence.

However, a nation that is influenced by a group of people doesn’t mean that it is founded on their principles. For example, would we say that the United States is a White nation? Of course not. In fact, that’s a great way of getting your ass kicked. Even though the founding documents were written by white people, we do not consider ourselves a White nation.

What is a Muslim Nation?

A Muslim nation is a nation where Sharia (Islamic law) is enforced. Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen all enforce Sharia law. In these communities, religious law is civil and criminal law. Often, beards must be worn at certain lengths and women must cover their bodies completely or they will face criminal charges from the state.

What about our history?

So do we enforce the Ten Commandments in the Bible? Have we ever? The answer is yes and no. During the days of the Puritans, the United States was a much different country. Witches were burned at the stake and adulterers were made to bear the infamous A. But these laws were a distortion of our Constitution.

The First Amendment of the Constitution reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Pretty clearly stated. Our founding fathers escaped religious persecution to establish this nation. The last thing they wanted to do was create a country that made all the same mistakes their homeland did. Even though certain communities did adopt some Christian law into their governing arsenal, it turned out pretty terribly. I think you’ll find few people willing to defend the Salem Witch Trials.

What about the law?

The Christian law never changes. It was written in the books of the Bible 2000 years ago and there have been few amendments to it since. However, our founding fathers purposely established this country in a way so that laws could change. At the will of the people, through their representatives in Congress, we can change the laws by which we live.

Pound of Flesh?

The founding fathers knew the Bible. Many of them were Christian. But they purposely did not establish Christian law as United States law. Even though many were devout Christians, the governing principles of the nation were purposely establish with no religion in mind. Even though God/Creator/Supreme Judge is mentioned in some of our founding documents, there is no mention of biblical law or Jesus.

What about the faith of the founding fathers?

Many of the founding fathers were Christians and others were not. Thomas Jefferson famously ripped every page out of the Bible that involved Jesus doing any type of miracle. He believed that the supernatural aspects of the Bible distorted the moral teachings. Jefferson even penned a new ending: rather than Jesus resurrecting from the dead, he is buried in the ground.

We cannot act like our founding fathers spoke in a unified voice. There was dissension, there were disagreements. I’m sure many of them thought that we should found a Christian nation. However, that is not what they gave us. They gave us a democratic republic. A democratic republic where the will of the people reigned supreme and not the laws of their former homeland.

Fox Nation attempts to smear Obama

Conclusion

It’s easy for commentators on Fox News to say we are a Christian nation because we were founded by mostly Christian people. But it’s not a debate that can take place in the 3-minute rush zone of a TV studio. We have to address the issue from many facets, define our terms, and somehow explain the rich history of our nation. The United States may be a nation of Christians, but it was not founded as a Christian nation.

Well, that certainly didn’t take long. After going public with news that he had converted to Catholicism, the religion practiced by his current third wife Callista Bisek, Newt Gingrich has decided to call it quits. Citing irreconcilable differences with Saint Augustine’s Just War Theory, Gingrich decided that the religion does not mesh with his conservative principles.